2008 Spirit Awards
Film Independent's 2008 Spirit Award nominations: November 27, 2007
2008 Spirit Award winners: February 23, 2008
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Ellen Page in Juno
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
I'm Not There, Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern
* Juno, Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
A Mighty Heart, Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt
Paranoid Park, Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Director: Cristian Mungiu (Romania)
The Band's Visit, Director: Eran Kolirin (Israel)
Lady Chatterley, Director: Pascale Ferran (France)
* Once, Director: John Carney (Ireland)
Persepolis, Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi (France)
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
2 Days in Paris, Director: Julie Delpy, Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok
Great World of Sound, Director: Craig Zobel, Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel
* The Lookout, Director: Scott Frank, Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes
Rocket Science, Director: Jeffrey Blitz, Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch
Vanaja, Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli, Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
* Crazy Love, Director: Dan Klores
Lake of Fire, Director: Tony Kaye
Manufactured Landscapes, Director: Jennifer Baichwal
The Monastery, Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair, Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, I'm Not There
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Jason Reitman, Juno
* Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park
BEST MALE LEAD
Pedro Castaneda, August Evening
Don Cheadle, Talk to Me
* Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages
Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening
Tony Leung, Lust, Caution
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Sienna Miller, Interview
* Ellen Page, Juno
Parker Posey, Broken English
Tang Wei, Lust, Caution
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
* Chiwetel Ejiofor, Talk to Me
Marcus Carl Franklin, I'm Not There
Kene Holliday, Great World of Sound
Irrfan Khan, The Namesake
Steve Zahn, Rescue Dawn
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
* Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Anna Kendrick, Rocket Science
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding
Tamara Podemski, Four Sheets to the Wind
Marisa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
BEST SCREENPLAY
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
* Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner, Starting Out in the Evening
Adrienne Shelly, Waitress
Mike White, Year of the Dog
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jeffrey Blitz, Rocket Science
Zoe Cassavetes, Broken English
* Diablo Cody, Juno
Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
John Orloff, A Mighty Heart
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mott Hupfel, The Savages
* Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Milton Kam, Vanaja
Mihai Malaimare Jr., Youth Without Youth
Rodrigo Prieto, Lust, Caution
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
* August Evening, Writer/Director: Chris Eska, Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling
Owl and the Sparrow, Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger, Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger
The Pool, Director: Chris Smith, Producer: Kate Noble, Writers: Chris Smith & Randy Russell
Quiet City, Director: Aaron Katz, Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler, Writers: Aaron Katz, Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau
Shotgun Stories, Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols, Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)
* I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood
PRODUCERS AWARD
Anne Clements, producer of Ping Pong Playa and Quinceañera
Alexis Ferris, producer of Cthulhu and Police Beat
* Neil Kopp, producer of Paranoid Park and Old Joy
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
* Laura Dunn for The Unforeseen
Gary Hustwit for Helvetica
John Maringouin for Running Stumbled
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
* Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop
Ronnie Bronstein, director of Frownland
Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo
Producers Award Nominating Committee: Scott Macaulay (Chair), Gina Kwon, Anne Walker-McBay, Lianne Halfon, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Truer Than Fiction Award Nominating Committee: John Vanco (Chair), Cara Mertes, A.J. Schnack, Dennis Lim, Laura Poitras
IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award Nominating Committee: Scott Foundas (Chair), Effie T. Brown, Lisa Kennedy, Bryan Poyser, Maud Nadler
Film Independent's Spirit Awards Site